Top Managerial Mistakes That Explode in Your Face

Gallup research reports, 82% of the time, employers hire the wrong person to manage and only one in ten people have the natural talent to manage…Yikes! The negative impact unsuitable managers impose on organizations has the potential to tarnish nearly every stage of the talent lifecycle, causing a ripple effect of damage on a company’s workforce.

But, where are these bad hires going wrong? Is their pending downfall due to lack of real managerial talent? Or is it because of lack of adequate training?

Tweet This: Is employee performance based on management talent or lack of adequate training?

Whatever the source is, there are some mistakes that today’s managers just can’t seem to shake. Whether they have good intentions or they really are that clueless, here are some of the topmanagerialmistakes disrupting workplaces all around the globe.

Being the micromanager

Everyone knows a micromanager is the worst and unfortunately, today’s workforce isn’t very self-aware so even some of those micromanagement haters are micromanagers. They just don’t realize it. According to research by Harvard Business Review, the effects of low self-aware individuals can be detrimental to teams, cutting their chances of success in half:

“…teams with less self-aware individuals made worse decisions, engaged in less coordination, and showed less conflict management.”

Unlike some management styles and techniques, micromanagement doesn’t really offer any positive outcomes. In fact, research has found it has a direct and negative impact on employee turnover, on-the-job performance and employee morale. There is no light at the end of this tunnel, so turn back!

Afraid you’re the micromanager? Complete your own self-evaluation and then ask your employees what they think of your management style through anonymous surveys. You might not like what you find, but at least you can start becoming a little more self-aware and lot less of a pain in your employees’ bums.

Tweet This: Are you micromanaging and don’t know it? Assess yourself, like this:

Being the absent manager

Maybe some think it’s empowerment or a sink or swim approach to management, but the manager who just pops in for the occasional staff meeting isn’t really a manager and drains on company resources, including employee productivity and morale. These managers contribute to the 50% of today’s employees who aren’t confident they know what is expected of them and wreak havoc on employee engagement. Dale Carnegie research found 80% of employees who are unhappy with their direct manager are disengaged and 70% of employees who lack confidence in their leadership are not fully engaged.

Sound like someone you know? Fix it. Be present. Organizations that make it easy for employees to set clear goals are four times more likely to score in the top 25% of business outcomes. Make it a point to touch base with each employee under your supervision at least once a week. Need help getting the conversation started? Download our employer and employee feedback resource pack right now! It’s full of printable templates you and your team can fill out to get down to what really needs discussed. Help them set performance goals and don’t forget to shoot the breeze a bit to lighten the mood and build good rapport. Set reminders to keep yourself accountable.

Being the evasive manager

Similar to the absent manager, evasive managers are afraid of conflict or don’t believe in it so they evade. Can we blame them? Conflict is uncomfortable and can strain relationships with team members, but it is so necessary to progress, especially in performance management.

Providing positive feedback and building on employee strengths is the trademark of a good manager. In fact, according to 2015 Strengths @Work survey, 71% of employees who feel their manager can name their strengths feel engaged and energized in their work. However, employees need constructive feedback to improve. A recent study found 72% of surveyed employees feel their performance would improve if their manager provided corrective feedback with suggestions for improvement.

Are you an evasive manager? Stop evading and start managing. If you don’t already have a performance management system to keep your management in check, get one. Embrace challenging situations instead of running from them. Your employees will not only respect you more for it, you’ll see a change in the team dynamic and performance.

These topmanagerialmistakes can single-handedly crumble productivity down to nothing. Do your team a favor, start soul searching and self-evaluating to ensure your management style is enhancing performance, not hindering it.